Public must share blame for bad journalism

Sept. 30, 2005

KALAMAZOO--An authority on ethics in journalism will share
her views on how the public must share some of the blame when
it comes to bad journalism on Wednesday, Oct. 5, when she visits
the Western Michigan University campus.

Dr. Kris Bunton, professor and chair of the Department of
Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of St. Thomas
in St. Paul, Minn., will speak at 7:30 p.m. in Room 211 of the
Bernhard Center. Her presentation is titled "Hey, You in
the Audience: Are You to Blame for Bad News?" and is free
and open to the public. It is being offered through the WMU Center
for the Study of Ethics in Society.

Bunton's research has been published in such academic journals
as "Public Integrity," "Journal of Mass Media
Ethics," "Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly,"
"Journalism Educator" and "American Journalism."
She has made presentations at a variety of national meetings
and is past chair of the Media Ethics Division of the Association
for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the world's
largest association of academics in journalism.

A frequent commentator on issues of media ethics, Bunton has
been interviewed by the Minnesota media and written commentary
for The St. Paul Pioneer Press. Outside academics, she has worked
brief stints in newspaper reporting, magazine editing and non-profit
public relations.

Many people are critical of journalistic practices and think
the news coverage and the journalists that produce it are sinking
to ever-lower standards. But few people accept that they are
partially responsible for the decline in those standards.

Bunton argues that the public is offered racially offensive
crime coverage or shallow, entertainment-oriented newscasts because
it's accepted as "news." Since the members of the public
tolerate this kind of journalism, they get more of it. Bunton
says media audiences must accept an ethical responsibility and
educate themselves about the changing structure of news organizations,
recognize that audiences are catered to by news organizations
and demand better news coverage.